Brief construction

ABSTRACT

A BRIEF IS FORMED WITH A CROTCH PORTION CONSTRUCTED OF MATERIAL WHICH IS STRETCHABLE IN A LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION TO PROVIDE A SUPPORTING POUCH FOR THE BODY OF A MALE WEARER. THE BODY PORTION OF THE GARMENT IS FORMED DIRECTLY FROM A TUBULAR SECTION OF MATERIAL WITH A SEPARATE CROTCH PORTION BEING SEWN THERETO. ELONGATE BINDING STRIPS FOR THE LEG OPENINGS OF THE BRIEF ARE FOLDED ALONG THEIR LENGTHS TO PRODUCE INNER AND OUTER LAYERS WHICH ARE THEMSELVES FOLDED TO PRODUCE REINFORCING LAYERS. AN ELASTIC STRIP IS DISPOSED BETWEEN THE REINFORCING LAYERS OF THE INNER LAYER AND CAPTURED BETWEEN A DOUBLE STITCHING ARRANGEMENT USED TO JOIN THE BINDING STRIP TO THE LEG OPENINGS.

Sept. 20, 1971 R. L. BEARD ETAL 3,605,739

BRIEIF CONSTRUCTION Filed March 21, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet l J 6 INVENT'ORSRALPH LBEARD J. FRED HESTER ATTORNEYS Sept. ZOQTQTI R, BEARD EI'AL3,605,739

BRIEF .consmucnou Filed March 21, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet z mvsrmms RALPH1.. BEARD J. FRED HESTER BY 0 5L919 AT'TOR N EYS United States Patent OUS. Cl. 128-159 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A brief is formedwith a crotch portion constructed of material which is stretchable in alongitudinal direction to provide a supporting pouch for the body of amale wearer. The body portion of the garment is formed directly from atubular section of material with a separate crotch portion being sewnthereto. Elongate binding strips for the leg openings of the brief arefolded along their lengths to produce inner and outer layers which arethemselves folded to produce reinforcing layers. An elastic strip isdisposed between the reinforcing layers of the inner layer and capturedbetween a double stitching arrangement used to join the binding strip tothe leg openmgs.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to mens and boysbriefs and more particularly to an improved brief and to a materialguide or former used in the construction of the improved brief.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A particularly vexing problem concerningmens and boys undergarments of the type known as briefs is that ofproviding a satisfactory crotch portion and particularly to providing asatisfactory support pouch for the body of the wearer.

One objection to conventional briefs is that they are oftentimes tootight in the crotch area. Conventional briefs generally do not providegive in the crotch area such that the shape of the crotch may stretch toconform to the body of the wearer. Further, garment shrinkage will oftenresult in a reduction of the length of the crotch portion of the briefwith an attendent increase in tightness. There have been numerousattempts at providing improved crotch support, including the provisionof a dart or extra seam in the crotch to enlarge the supporting areathereof. Briefs so constructed have not been found to be entirelysatisfactory in that they do not always provide effective support.Further, the effectiveness of the support provided may vary from wearerto wearer because the supporting area is of a particular predeterminedshape and thus may not be completely suitable for each individual. Theproblem of providing satisfactory support in the crotch area relates toa more general problem of wearer comfort. In general an approach thatdepends upon additional seams is unlikely to be entirely satisfactorybecause of the discomfort caused by the additional seams. Further, theaddition of seams will add to the overall expense of the garment becauseof the increased labor costs due to increased handling and sewing. Theaddition of seams will also add to the problem of shrinkage in that ingeneral the greater the number of seams the greater the amount ofshrinkage likely to occur.

Another problem encountered in garments of this type is that of theseparation of the elastic strip or whatever other elasticizing medium isused for the garment leg openings from the binding strip and garmentproper so ice that the naked strip is exposed. Where this elastic mediumis exposed, as through destruction of the mounting threads therefor byabrasion, the discomfort occasioned thereby often cause a wearer todiscard the garment well before the end of the natural life of thegarment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention thereis provided a mans brief wherein the lower or crotch portion thereof isstretchable in a longitudinal direction to form a pouch portion. Inaccordance with a presently preferred embodiment the brief is of twopiece rib-knit construction, and includes a crotch portion in which theribbing thereof extends transversely in a direction perpendicular to thelongitudinally extending ribbing of a trunk or body portion of thebrief. With this ribbing arrangement the crotch portion is relativelyfree to stretch in a longitudinal direction to form a supporting pouch.In accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention thebody portion of the brief is formed directly from a tubular section ofmaterial and the crotch portion is formed from a separate cut-outsection and thus a minimum number of seams is required. The body andcrotch portions are formed and dimensioned such that longitudinalstretch is confined to the crotch area.

In accordance with a further feature of the present invention there isprovided an improved elasticized binding arrangement for the legopenings of the brief. Longitudinal stretch in the crotch portion of thebrief is particularly desirable at the central portion of the crotch andless desirable at the portions adjacent the leg openings. Thus it may bedesired to provide elasticized binding for the leg openings to ensure asnug fit in these areas. In accordance with the present invention a thinstrip of elastic is disposed between the layers produced by folding oneedge of the binding strip along a longitudinal fold line before sewing.With this arrangement a compartment is formed for the elastic stripwhich has been found to elfectivel ycombat the tendency with repeatedwearing and washing of the elastic strip to come out of the binding. Theelastic is not sewed to the binding or the garment proper and thuselasticized thread constructed of a material such as Spandex is notnecessary.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention a material guideused in sewing of the binding to the garment proper is provided whichdelivers the elastic strip and the binding material to be sewn with therequired folds made in the binding material and with the elastic stripsuitably positioned between the layers of one of the folds.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent upon consideration of the following description of theinvention taken with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a brief constructed in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 2 is an inside front view of a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a representation of a blank of material used in constructingthe trunk portion of the brief of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a representation of a blank of material used in constructingthe crotch portion of the brief of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an inside front view of a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a representation of a folded blank of material used inconstructing the trunk portion of the brief of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a crotch view of the brief of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the leg binding for the briefsof FIGS. l7 including the needles for sewing the binding to the garmentproper;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a fabric guide or folder used inpreparing the binding of FIG. 8 showing the binding material being fedtherethrough', and

FIG. is a view taken generally along line AA of FIG. 9 with the materialremoved for purposes of clarity.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 7 of the drawings there is shown a firstembodiment of a mans brief generally denoted B constructed in accordancewith the present invention. Brief B generally comprises a body portion10 and a crotch portion 12. An elastic waistband 14 encircles the trunkopening of body portion 10 while leg bindings 1 6 encircle the legopenings for the brief. The construction of leg bindings 16 is shown inFIG. 8 and is discussed in some detail hereinbelow.

The construction of brief B will be better appreciated uponconsideration of FIGS. 3 and 4 in which there is shown, respectively, ablank for forming the body portion 10 and a blank for forming crotchportion 12 of the garment. Referring to FIG. 3, the body or trunkportion 10 of the garment is constructed from tubular blank of materialT cut to form a front portion 18 and a rear portion 20. As shown, thelower edge of front portion 18 is of concave semicircular shape. Thelower edge of rear portion 20 extends below the lower edge of frontportion 18 and is cut straight across as shown. The tubular blank ofmaterial is taken directly from the knitter and thus the brief iseffectively knit to size.

Referring to FIG. 4, crotch portion 12 is constructed from a fiat blankof material C one end of which is generally V-shaped and the other endof which is cut straight across.

The finished garment of FIGS. 1, 2 and 7 is constructed by sewing theend of crotch blank C including the straight edge to lower edge of therear portion 20 of body blank T. The stitching may be covered by afinishing strip 22 as indicated in FIG. 7. The V-shaped end of crotchblank C is sewed to the front portion 18 of body blank T. The locationsat which blank C is sewed to blank T may best be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2.A finishing strip 24 is sewed to blank T along the concave semi-circularlower edge thereof as is indicated in FIG. 2 while one edge of theV-shaped portion of crotch blank C is sewed to the body blank T asindicated by stitching 26. A finishing strip 28 shown in FIG. 1 coversstitching 26. The other edge of the V-shaped portion of crotch blank Cis left unsewn and forms the fly opening for the garment. A finishingstrip 30 is sewn to the fly-forming edge of crotch blank C (see FIG. 1).Thus the fly passage extends between crotch portion 12 and the lowersemi-circular edge of body portion 10 to which finishing strip 24 issewn and out between body portion 10 and the finished edge 30 of crotchportion 12.

In accordance with an important feature of the present invention theribbing or wales of the fabric from which crotch blank C is constructedextends in a transverse direction, i.e., parallel to the width of blankC, as indicated in FIG. 1, whereby longitudinal stretching of crotchportion 12 is permitted. It will be understood that the terms transverseand longitudinal are referenced to the body of the wearer, the termlongitudinal meaning generally parallel to the length of the torso. Ascan be seen in FIGS. '1 and 2 and in comparing FIGS. 3 and 4 the ribbingof the crotch portion 12 extends transversely while the ribbing of thebody portion 10 extends longitudinally. Because rib knit materialpermits stretch in a direction perpendicular to the direction in whichthe ribbing extends but is relatively inelastic in the paralleldirection, this construction permits longitudinal stretching of crotchportion 20 to form a pouch. This construction contrasts with and, infact, is directly opposite to that of the prior art wherein the ribbingis vertical and thus stretch in the crotch area is horizontal.Longitudinal or vertical stretch is critically important in mens andboys briefs because, as stated, room is provided for forming a pouch forthe wearer and thus tightness of the garment in the crotch area issubstantially eliminated. Further, a pouch so formed is adapted to thebody of the individual wearer and thus a kind of custom fit is provided.

An important feature of the particular embodiment of the invention shownin FIGS. l-4 is that a minimum number of seams is required. As statedhereinbefore a reduction in seams generally increases wearers comfort,decreases manufacturing costs and decreases shrinkage. Regardingshrinkage it is noted that with the construction of the invention theusual reduction in length of the garment and attendant increase intightness in the crotch area accompanied by shrinkage in the bodyportion is combatted by the ability of the garment to stretch in thecrotch area.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, an alternate method of constructing thebrief of the invention is illustrated. FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 2 andlike elements are given the same numbers with primes attached. In FIG. 6a. blank T used in forming the body or trunk portion of the brief B ofFIG. 5 is shown. Blank T is cut out from a tubular section of material32, indicated in phantom in FIG. 6, which is flattened out to form twolongitudinal folded edges. One of these edges denoted 34 is retainedwhen blank T is cut out and thus a double layer is formed. The blank Tis unfolded and the outer edges 36 (one of which may be seen in FIG. 6)are sewn together to produce a section of garment similar to body blankT of FIG. 3. The blanks T and T' differ physically only in the presenceof scam 38 formed by the sewing together of the outer edges 36 of blankT. The crotch blank used to form the crotch portion 12' of brief B maybe exactly the same as that used in forming crotch portion 12. Thisblank and blank T are sewn together in the same way as describedhereinabove in connection with blank C and blank T and the finishedbrief B is physically indistinguishable from brief B apart from seam 38.Both briefs B and B are characterized in that the ribbing of the crotchportions thereof extends transversely to provide longitudinal stretch. Afurther important common feature of the brief constructions B and B isthat the longitudinal stretch thereof is confined to the crotch area.Longitudinal stretch elsewhere in the garment is undesirable becausesuch stretch will destroy the shape and fit of the garment. As mayperhaps best be seen in FIGS. 4 and 7 crotch portion 12 and rear portion20 are formed and dimensioned such that the rearward extent of thestraight portion of crotch portion 12 is limited and thus that the seatof the garment will stretch transversely.

Referring to FIG. 8, a detail view is shown of the manner of attachmentof a leg binding 40 to a portion of the garment proper denoted 42.Binding 40 is constructed from an elongate strip of fabric materialwhich folded along a longitudinal fold line denoted 44 to produce outerand inner layers 40a and 40b. Portion 42 of the garment extends betweenlayers 40a, 40b to a position adjacent the longitudinal fold line 44.Layer 40a is folded inwardly and downwardly along a longitudinal foldline 46 to form a first reinforcement layer 40c and layer 40b is foldedinwardly and upwardly along a longitudinal fold line 48 to form afurther reinforcement layer 40d. Leg binding 40 further includes anelongate strip of elastic 50 positioned between layers 40b and 40d asshown and extending parallel to the edges of layers 40c and 40d. Elasticstrip 50 is captured between the threads forming a double stitch 52 ascan be seen in FIG. 8 by the positioning of strip '50 in relationship tosewing needles 54. As stated hereinbefore the compartment formed bylayers 40b and 40d and the double stitch 52 has been found to bemarkedly advantageous in preventing separation or exposure of theelastic strip 50. Strip 50 is not sewn to the binding 40 but is, asstated, captured between the double stitch 52 and thus it is unnecessarythat the thread used itself be elastic. It is noted that where, as incertain prior art constructions, an elastic strip is sewn directly tothe garment it is preferable that the thread used be capable ofstretching so that pulling out of the stitching is combatted. It will beunderstood that although the binding strip arrangement of the inventionis particularly suited to use in briefs of the type described thisarrangement may have utility in any elasticized garment opening. Forexample, the binding strip arrangement of the invention may be utilizedin a garment which includes leg portions which extend to the mid-thigharea of the wearer, the arrangement providing an elasticized opening inthis area.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodimentsof the invention shown and described herein are subject to modificationwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.Accordingly, it should be understood that the invention is not limitedby the embodiments shown and described, but rather is defined by thesubjoined claims.

We claim:

1. A brief for a male wearer comprising a directionally stretchabletrunk portion constructed of rib-knit material and having leg openingsand an enlarged waist opening for receiving the trunk of a wearer, saidtrunk portion being substantially non-stretchable in a longitudinaldirection parallel to the longitudinal extent of the body of the wearerand being stretchable in a transverse direction perpendicular to saidlongitudinal direction, and a directionally stretchable crotch portionconstructed of rib-knit material for supporting the lower body of thewearer, said crotch portion being substantially non-stretchable in saidtransverse direction and being stretchable in said longitudinaldirection to form a pouch for the lower body of the wearer, said trunkportion comprising a trunk member comprising a generally tubular sectionof material having downwardly extending front and back portions, saidfront portion terminating in a concav substantially semi-circular loweredge and said back portion being of substantially greater length thansaid front portion and extending downwardly to join said crotch portionin the rear crotch area of the wearer, and said crotch portioncomprising a crotch member formed separately from said trunk member andcomprising an elongate section of material, one end of which issubstantially V-shaped and is symmetrical about the center line of saidcrotch member, said V-shaped end of said crotch member lying just abovesaid semi-circular edge of said trunk member and being selectively sewedto the outside of said trunk member at spaced points therealong to forma fly opening.

2. A garment in accordance with claim 1 wherein said trunk member isformed directly from a tubular length of material.

3. A garment in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a pair ofbinding strips framing said leg openings, said binding strips eachcomprising an elongate fabric strip folded along the length thereof toproduce an inner and outer layer, said inner layer being further foldedto produce a double layer, an elongate elastic strip disposed betweensaid double layer, and a double stitching arrange ment for joining thebinding strip to the portion of the garment forming said leg openingsand capturing said elastic strip therebetween.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,637,157 7/1927 Osborne.2,651,048 9/1953 Milberg 2224A 2,157,482 5/1939 Crossingham 2274X2,570,498 10/1951 Senderowitz 2-224 FOREIGN PATENTS 107,097 4/1939Australia. 463,149 2/1950 Canada. 1,358,283 3/1964 France.

666,434 2/ 1952 Great Britain. Ad. 88,521 1/1967 France 1st Addition ofPat. No.

H. HAMPTON HUNTER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 2-224A, 23s

